Challenges I faced as a HR Professional (And how to get past them)

5 challenges I faced as a HR professional (and how to get past them)

Let's face it HR professionals don't have it easy.

This is a stressful role and more often than not it can also be taken for granted.

During my time as a HR professional, I had to wear several hats which were a cause of stress and burnout for me. These included:

Work-life balance: I was often working long hours, especially during peak recruitment seasons or when dealing with employee issues. Balancing work demands with personal responsibilities was a challenge for me, and often led to me getting stressed and burnout.

Managing conflict: Managing conflict was an important aspect of my role. This is also something, no qualification prepares you for and you only get to learn on job. I found managing conflict difficult and stressful, especially when I had to deal with difficult personalities or challenging situations.

Dealing with change: During my time as a HR professional, the company went through many changes and I had to play a vital role in managing this change in the organization. I had to once let go of 500 employees. This was emotionally challenging for me and I found it hard to be the bearer of bad news.

Managing high expectations: There were high expectations from my peers and superiors which meant there was a high pressure to perform for me. This coupled with impostor syndrome resulted in resulted in stress, burnout, self-doubt. I wanted to be perfect and was overworked as a result.

Emotional toll: I was dealing with sensitive and emotional issues such as harassment, discrimination, and termination. Dealing with these issues was emotionally draining and exhausting for me.

All of these challenges resulted in my having very high expectations from myself. I would be very critical of my performance and deliverables. I was also very hard on myself. I also had a massive impostor syndrome.

What I have learnt now is for a HR professional, it is important to do the following to overcome these challenges:

1. Remember to be kind to yourself.

2. It is ok if you don't know everything, you are not expected to.

3. Invest in yourself, constantly work on developing your skills and your emotional resilience

4. Seek support where necessary and ask for help when needed

5. Learn to say no, the world will continue to spin even if you do

6. Have a confidant/accountability partner/friend or someone you can confide in and speak your heart out to.

7. Be authentic, take off the masks they don't serve you

8. The only person you need validation from is yourself, nobody else. Learn to appreciate yourself and all that you do.

By implementing these strategies, you will be able to over the challenges you face as a HR professional and achieve greater success in your role.

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